1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to a combined mattress cover with an attached apron for covering the foot end of a mattress and, more particularly, to a combined mattress cover and apron for use in retail showrooms which not only protects a mattress from being soiled while it is tested by a customer, but also serves to clearly identify the brand name and other information relating to the demonstrated mattress.
2. Description of the Related Art
Before a customer purchases a new mattress, retailers and manufacturers recommend that the customer "test rest" the mattress. That is, the customer should fully lie on the mattress. By fully lying on the mattress, the customer can better compare the comfort of one mattress to another. However, some customers are reluctant to fully test rest a mattress because their shoes tend to soil or damage the mattress surface. Instead, such customers simply sit on anedge of the mattress or partially lie on the mattress with their feet dangling over a side of the mattress.
To encourage customers to test rest mattresses, some retailers and manufacturers have provided protective coverings placed over the foot end of the mattress. Such coverings include fitted sleeves which slide onto the end of the mattress. However, a disadvantage of these fitted sleeves is that they tend to easily fall off the end of the mattress after one or more customers test the mattress. One reason the fitted sleeves fall off is because mattresses vary in thickness. Although the width and length of mattresses have been standardized to fit available bed frames, the thicknesses of mattresses can vary between eight inches to fifteen or more inches. This makes it difficult for a sleeve cover to adequately fit various sized mattresses. As an alternative, vinyl covers have been sewn on the foot ends of mattresses for protection. However, such construction necessarily adds to manufacturing expense and consequent cost of the mattress. Also, a sewn vinyl cover can be ripped by a consumer testing the mattress. When this happens, the mattress must be sent back to the manufacturer for recovering and repair.
As a separate matter, retail showrooms for mattress sales typically contain a large number of mattresses having different characteristics and quality and also representing different manufacturing entities and brand names. As a consequence of the variety of available mattresses on display at the typical retail outlet, a consumer can easily become confused as to which product he or she has tested and finds preferable. Accordingly, it is desirable to provide a means for prominently displaying the brand, logo or product destination of a mattress in a showroom in direct association with a particular mattress product. It is further desirable to display such information in not only an attractive and tasteful manner, but also in a manner which will not interfere with the consumer's testing of the mattress. Further, it is desirable to display such information in a convenient and cost-effective manner. Still further, it is desirable to provide a means for prominently displaying the brand and other source identifying information of a mattress while at the same time providing means for protecting the foot end of the mattress effectively against soiling during testing by the consumer.